Ornamental Mushrooms

Most mushrooms are "ornamental"...neither edible nor poisonous.
Very few mushrooms are actually poisonous. Most of 'em are inedible and
indigestible. Very few are delectable delicacies...most are peppery, acrid,
slimy, hard, woody or a wide variety of other strange things. Most all
mushrooms, however, seem to be quite pretty. This part of my fungi page is the
largest.

Ornamentals

These huge mushrooms were growing in the bare sandy soil in the volcanic
region south of Mono Lake. They were completely dried out, but not shriveled at
all. I did not pick them nor disturb them, so I have no idea what kind they
are. Might have made good mushroom jerky.

This is a closeup of a "dentinum" mushroom, or a "tooth
fungus". Note that it does not have radial gills, but instead has downward
pointing teeth.

Black Elfin Saddle

The Elfin Saddle is a runner-up in the most ugly mushroom contest.

These are tiny little mushrooms growing on a leaf of tanoak. Illumination
is from a 540EZ flash unit in my hand, connected to the camera by the various
Canon flash cord gizmos. A macro lens with a flash can put some fun into a wet,
dismal winter day.

Really small mushrooms, probably of the genus
Mycena

More of the same species of mushroom. You can seem them growing out of the
leaves better, but the exposure on the caps is washed out. That's one of the
problems with mushroom photography. Often, the subject is very small, and
whiter than the surrounding background. In such situations, I find that it's
best to compensate the flash exposure down a stop or so.